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May 2014

Divergent

We're getting more and more requests from customers who have finished
Veronica Roth's Divergent series, already seen the first movie, and are
now wanting to know what to read next. The staff members at Eight
Cousins have put together this list to help everyone going through Divergent withdrawal.

Staff Review: Divergent falls into the subcategory of science fiction
known as "dystopia" -- or dystopian lit, dystopian fiction. Similar to
famous dystopian classics that came before it (think 1984, Farenheit
451, Brave New World, and more recently, The Hunger
Games ), Divergent takes place in a future world that is far from ideal.
In post-apocolyptic Chicago where the book is set, society is split
into five factions. All sixteen-year-olds must take an aptitude test
that tells them which faction they are best suited for. Each teen is
then free to choose a faction--though this choice, of course, has
consequences. The book's protagonist, Beatrice "Tris" Prior, is
"divergent": she tests equally into three factions. Needless to say this
makes her dangerous. Tris makes her choice and so begins her adventures
fraught with danger, violence, and a good deal of romance. ~Stephanie

The Fault in Our Stars

Coming up next for YA in theaters is John Green's The Fault in Our
Stars. So you've read the book (a couple of times) watched the trailer
(at least twice), what to read while you're desperately waiting for June
6th? Definitely read the rest of Green's books, if you haven't
already. Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, The Abundance of Katherines,
and Will Grayson, Will Grayson are all fantastic. For everyone thinking,
"yes, yes, of course, but what next?!?!," we've put together this
reading list just for you!

The Great Greene Heist

From the Blog: Jackson Greene has worked diligently for the past four
months to rehabilitate his reputation after the Kelsey Job - or the Mid
Day PDA as everyone else at Maplewood Middle School likes to call it.
Getting caught kissing Katie Accord outside Principal
Kelsey's office was never part of the plan and Jackson is usually an
excellent planner (Rule #1: No matter how simple a job looks, always
plan before you act). That particular job was supposed to go
differently. It wasn't supposed to alienate his best friend Gaby de la
Cruz. And it definitely wasn't supposed to end with him losing cell
phone privileges and having weekly meetings interrogations with the principal. Jackson, understandably, isn't keen to plan any more cons. He's retired.

Then Jackson discovers that Keith Sinclair is running against Gaby for
student council president. Keith's idea of student governing is to
funnel the budget according to his own interests, effectively shutting
down Botany Club, Tech Club, Chess Team, Art Geeks, the school
newspaper. Besides, the deadline for applicants has passed, so why
exactly is Dr. Kelsey willing to bend the rules on Keith's behalf?
Jackson - Botany Club member and basketball player - starts to gather a
crew: Charlie (Gaby's twin brother and editor of the Maplewood Herald),
Hashemi Larijani (member of the Tech Club and Star Trek fan), Bradley
Boardman (Art Geek member and guidance office helper), Victor Cho (Chess
Team member, with a surplus of cash), and Megan Feldman (Tech Club
President, science whiz, Cheerleader, and Klingon speaker). With
Jackson, always in his trademark red tie - skewed slightly to the left -
at the helm, the crew has three weeks to pull off the greatest heist
Maplewood Middle School has ever witnessed in order to ensure that the
student council elections stay fair and honorable.

Teachers and Librarians, make sure to add Varian Johnson's fantastic new
book to your libraries. It is a fast-paced adventure, perfect for
middle-grade readers who like school stories, mysteries, and appreciate a
touch of style. Jackson is smart, classy, and a fantastic new
character. Here's hoping that The Great Greene Heist is just the beginning of Jackson's stories.

The Great Greene Heist is such a fantastic book that I couldn't
be more excited to support this book and this cause. In the meantime,
Eight Cousins has issued a friendly challenge to Odyssey Books in South
Hadley, MA to see which store can sell the most copies of The Great Greene Heist before June 27. The call is out to other bookstores (Thanks, Shannon Hale!) to participate in this challenge.See Varian Johnson's response to the challenge here. I hope you will purchase a copy of The Great Green Heist at
whatever your local bookstore happens to be because it's awesome and
because diversity in kids' books matters. But I also hope you will
consider pre-ordering it at Eight Cousins to help us kick Odyssey Books in the pants win the challenge.